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  Destroyed crops, riverbed cyclists and a ‘Rock of Starvation’: how drought has devastated the Danube The Hungarian parliament building on the banks of the Danube is not being lit as normal at night owing to energy-saving measures being imposed during drought conditions The Guardian travelled 100 miles along the EU’s longest river, where some residents are struggling to secure drinking water For centuries, the rock was seen as a warning. When it began to emerge from the Danube, beneath Gellért Hill in Budapest, it meant the river had fallen so low that floating mills could no longer operate, crops were probably failing, and hunger would almost certainly follow. That is why, in the Hungarian capital, where over time the boulder became little more than a legend, it was named Ínség-szikla – the Rock of Starvation. Today, amid record-low water levels on the Danube, the rock has not only emerged from the water, but surfaced almost in its entirety, along with the sandy riverbed on whic...
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  Bonds Face a Bigger Threat Than the Fed as Global Rates Climb Save Translate 5:12 Takeaways by Bloomberg AI As investors debate whether and when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, market expectations for further tightening are building around the world — and spelling trouble for bonds. Traders see borrowing costs rising faster in Japan, Canada, the UK and the euro zone than in the US over the next year. Of the 32 swap markets tracked by Bloomberg, two-thirds are priced for rate hikes, with South Korea leading the pack at more than 100 basis points. It marks a shift from the Fed-dominated rate cycle of recent years. This time, central banks are facing overlapping pressures from higher oil prices from the Iran war, heavy government spending and an AI investment boom that’s supercharging growth. Inflation across countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently hit a two-year high. That leaves investors with an uncomfortable prospect: bonds...
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  Central Banks Are Stuck in a Rinse-and-Repeat Cycle of Crises By becoming market makers of last resort, policymakers are pumping up leverage and risk By The Bank of England in London. Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/ZUMA Press Central banks may be accidentally subsidizing government borrowing through their efforts to prevent a repeat of past market blowups, and policymakers are starting to worry that anticrisis lending facilities could even be interfering with their own monetary policy. The source of the problem is the switch from central banks being the lender of last resort to, in 2008 and 2020, also being market makers of last resort, ensuring corporate—and government—debt markets keep functioning. During a crisis, support is often essential to prevent a downward spiral that destroys the financial system. But backstopping markets removes a key risk and encourages more borrowing—especially for the hedge funds that now own trillions of dollars of U.S. Treasurys. “Ironically, vulnerabil...
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  Taiwan’s War Games Are Spilling Into Everyday Life The island’s annual military exercises are becoming broader and more realistic, reflecting efforts to prepare both the armed forces and civilians for conflict. Soldiers take part in the annual 10-day Han Kuang military drills in Taiwan on Aug. 9, 2026. Photographer: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg August 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM GMT+10 Updated on August 14, 2026 at 5:56 PM GMT+10 Save Translate 7:57 Dozens of flatbed trucks carrying CM-21 armored vehicles and M60A3 tanks rumbled through tunnels carved into the cliffs of Taiwan’s east coast. A typhoon had just brushed the island’s north, and soldiers sweated in the humid night air. The convoy was heading north toward Yilan, where the armed forces were rehearsing for a Chinese landing that would require reinforcements from Hualien, two hours south. Civilian traffic was halted on a major highway, with cars backed up at checkpoints waiting for the column to pass. It was the fifth day of Taiwan’s an...
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